Narrative:
Murphy Hall, which is located across a stream valley from the Castle, is a most singular building. It forms a large open square, with an internal courtyard that was once covered by concrete pavers, now a garden. The outer and inner courtyard walls have a half story of stone, above which run bricks with a large X pattern created by darker colored bricks. The courtyard is entered through an archway; on the opposite side a clock tower rises to about 50 feet, surmounted by a sloping conical tile roof. Many windows have a gothic shape. It is one of the first large buildings designed by Horace Trumbauer, but its rather utilitarian nature has kept it from receiving much attention. In its own way, perched on a hill with its massive tower, Murphy is as impressive as Grey Towers Castle and is sometimes mistaken for "the Castle" by unknowing visitors. It is also an example of adaptive reuse, or rather re-uses, as the University's utilization of the space has gone through at least two major iterations. Initially, very little of the large interior spaces were modified. Then, a basketball court was laid down in one space, and later a 400-seat sloping auditorium/chapel was constructed above the court. More recently, the athletic space was made over into art studios and communications laboratories.